What’s left of Nan Aron’s charges? She contends that Judge Southwick has “voted against the interests of injured workers and consumers in divided decisions 89 percent of the time” and that he has “also voted overwhelmingly—54 of 59 times—against defendants alleging juror discrimination.” Let’s set aside the fact that, if the three categories of deception are lies, damned lies, and statistics, we should be especially skeptical of statistics proffered by someone who, it seems, has made a career out of being a habitual liar. What are these statistics supposed to show? What are the platonic percentages? When did Southwick actually get it wrong?

Flinging her usual epithets, Aron charges that Judge Southwick has shown “disrespect for law and lack of compassion for the powerless.” Ah, yes, that’s why the ABA, no friend to Bush Administration nominees, unanimously gave Southwick its highest “well qualified” rating—after conducting its usual investigation, which includes an inquiry into whether the nominee has “freedom from bias and commitment to equal justice under the law.” That’s why Senator Specter, in a July 25 floor statement, was able to provide countless illustrations of cases in which Southwick ruled for the powerless.

Aron, of course, isn’t interested in equal justice under the law. By “compassion for the powerless,” Aron means that judges should favor certain litigants and impose the Left’s agenda. Her well-founded belief that Southwick will instead be the very model of a judge is why she and the rest of the Left are opposing him.